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Bubble Bubble Toil and Trouble ;-)
This map indicates the locations where suspicious bubbling has been
observed in the ponds that form after rainstorms.
The oil sheen frequently visible in the lower county parcel is
another hint at the area's oil production past.
I have sent my observations of suspicious bubbling to both Shea
Homes
and the Coastal Commission. In mid-June 2003, 6 methane testing
wells
suddenly appeared, but they missed my M1 and M2 locations. So I
contacted
Ron Metzler of Shea Homes to inform him about those omissions and a
site
visit was arranged where I showed Ron and his methane consultants the
precise
locations of M1 and M2. Additional testing wells appeared at
those
locations shortly after the site visit.
I phoned Ron Metzler of Shea Homes in August 2003 to inquire about
the results of the methane testing. Ron reported that all
locations tested negative for methane, but that the testing wells would
be left in place in the event that further testing was deemed necessary.
The bubbling was observed during the wet season, but the negative
testing results were obtained during the dry season. All this
means for sure is that no methane was present when the dry season
testing was done. If I observe further bubbling during the coming
2003-2004 wet season, I will ask that methane testing be repeated
during the wet season.
Location M1 - March 16, 2003
Very vigorous bubbling was observed coming from the edge of the oats at the western boundary of the main farm field. This was too far away to obtain a decent quality video image from my digital camera, but this still shot shows bubbles and ripples. This location had BY FAR the highest rate of bubbling compared to the others.
The actual bubbling location is several feet beyond the right edge
of this picture.
Location M2 - March 20, 2003
Click this thumbnail image to view a video clip of the bubbling in
action.
Looking northwest where the bubbling was observed. The
yellow-painted
terminus of the big high-pressure natural gas line can be seen in the
eucalyptus
trees at left in the background.
Location M3 - May 3, 2003
Click this thumbnail image to view a video clip of the bubbling in
action.
A still photograph showing full-res detail of the vent and bubbles.
The location of the bubbling. The Wintersburg Channel levee
can be seen in the far background.
Location M4 - February 26, 2004
Click this thumbnail image to view a video clip of the bubbling in
action.
A still photograph of the bubbling.
The location of the bubbling in what I call the "county palm
wetland". A palm frond is barely visible in the upper left
corner, and the Wintersburg Channel is visible in the background.
Multiple locations were bubbling in this pond on this day.
Webmaster: Mark Bixby